Liz Menard – Friday Night Guest – April 1, 2022

(Submitted by Mary Intven Wallace)

Printmaker Liz Menard delighted us with her “virtual” studio tour. She spoke about how she uses the creative process to approach her artwork in an innovative way, resulting in many unique artworks and installations. Within the theme of respect and relationship to nature, Liz works to construct her personal and cultural identity within each of the places she explores. Whether its migrating monarch butterflies, invasive and native plants, flowing rivers and watersheds, ephemeral plants rising from under layers of fallen leaves, or trees in a forest, Liz makes a commitment to work ethically with naturally sourced materials, always within the context of environmental issues.

Using a wide variety of printmaking methods (etching, drypoint, collograph, relief, silkscreen and letterpress) we saw how Liz constructs her artworks to communicate meaning. She showed us images of how she makes her own inks and papers as she commented on the fun she has playing and experimenting.

Liz often augments her prints with drawing, photography, pastels, watercolour, writing, stitching and/or sculpture. With this wide variety of techniques, mediums and materials, Liz is now working on combining many of these elements into her artist books. She demonstrated how she took a long strip of translucent paper, made valley and mountain folds, then glued boards on either end to make book covers. Into this double accordion book she has added text and etchings; we were enchanted with how artist books could be created in so many ways. How many of you followed up by making your own artist book for some artistic exploration and play (I know I did)?

Thank you to Liz for an interesting and inspiring evening.

Currently Liz is creating her artwork as well as teaching during her residency at Open Studio, a Toronto based Artist-Run Centre dedicated to contemporary print. Learn more about Liz at:

Website: www.lizmenard.ca

Facebook: Liz Menard

Instagram: #printmakerliz